The present invention relates broadly to electrified animal prods. More specifically the present invention relates to an electrified livestock guide panel for manipulating animals such as pigs. The invention is believed best classified in United States Class 231, subclass 7.
The prior art suggests electrified livestock guides. Moreover, it is previously known to provide an electrified livestock guide consisting of a central panel having a manual handle attached to it. U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,200, issued Dec. 5, 1978, discloses such a livestock guide. It discloses a generally rectangular panel having a plurality of outwardly projecting electrified contacts. Typical electrical animal prods are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,843, issued Jan. 11, 1978.
However prior art devices exhibit numerous shortcomings. Electrodes which project outwardly from the control housing can induce tissue damage in livestock. Naturally, when animals experience vigorous electric shock, they may respond by panicking. When an alarmed animal panics, he may violently contact the prod, and outwardly projecting electrode tips may penetrate the skin or eyes of the animal, resulting in physical damage and therefore loss of value.
Known devices may include electrodes arranged in spaced apart horizontal arrays. When startled hogs, for example, jump toward the electrified guide, they may try and use horizontal structures as climbing steps. Violent kicking may result. Another disadvantage is that excrement collects on the horizontal members, and tends to obscure the electrical contacts.
Other relevant prior art consists of U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,956, issued to Andrews on July 26, 1983; U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,932, issued Jan. 10, 1984 to Allen. These battery powered devices are easily manipulable and fairly inexpensive to produce. However, there are several major disadvantages associated with such devices. While the electric shock stimulates the animal to move, the prod provides no visual barrier or guide to train the animal in the desired direction of travel. Thus such equipment is ineffective to guide the animal without the use of physical barriers such as a loading chute or the like. The operator using such a prod is at risk of being attacked or trampled where no physical barrier exists, it would seem desirable to provide a controller device which combines the advantages of the hand-held prods with means for presenting a visual barrier for guiding the animals.
Hence it is desired to provide a panel-type livestock guide having improved electrodes which do not injure the animal and are not easily obstructed or damaged. Moreover, it would be desirable to provide a panel prod with extendible panel members for improved visual and physical guidance. It is well known from animal studies that animals can be readily trained to respond to audio and visual signals associated with electric shocks. The pig has proven to be particularly intelligent and easily trained. It would thus seem desirable to provide a conditioning stimulant with a prod device so that the applications of tissue-damage from electric shock could be reduced.
In particular, it has been observed that animals respond in like order to prerecorded sounds of fear and pain. In other words, when an initial electric shock evokes an aural response in the animals, playback of the recorded response with or without an accompanying shock precipitates the same controlling response in the animals.
Finally it is desired to provide a panel type controller which can be used in conjunction with existing electric prods.